The Marshall W. Nirenberg Papers

Title:

Synapse Selection Based on Differences in Synapse Turnover

Description:

As a continuation of Marshall Nirenberg's work in neurobiology in the early 1980s, the study in this article shows different
degrees of synapse formation in neurons and muscle tissue cells. The experiment shows that "rat retinal neurons form
transient synapses with rat muscle cells only during a discrete period in development, whereas chick embryo spinal cord neurons
form synapses with rat muscle cells at all developmental stages tested." Findings suggest that different rates of turnover
with synapses can result in the selective retention of one population of synapses and loss of the other.